At the Brazil Mining 2023 International Conference and Exhibition held in Nova Lima, Adriano Espeschit, president of Potássio do Brasil (PdB), a subsidiary of Brazil Potash (BPC) delivered a lecture on “Food security: Brazil and global potash demand.” The conference, organized by Novaconf, attracted roughly 70 participants from various fields in the mining industry to discuss innovations, forge partnerships, and explore investment projects in Brazil.

Potássio do Brasil’s attendance at the conference aimed to showcase the Potássio Autazes Project and emphasize its significance for Brazil’s agricultural sector. Espeschit highlighted that the project would be “a milestone in the productive sector in Brazil” by bolstering agribusiness and providing food security. Furthermore, it would promote sustainable development in Autazes, the municipality where the project will be implemented.

The company is currently awaiting the Installation License (LI) from the Instituto of Environmental Protection of Amazonas (Ipaam) to begin constructing facilities and extracting potassium chloride from the sylvinite mine in Autazes, located 112 km from Manaus. The company has already received the Preliminary License (LP) from the same organization.

At a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (Suframa), Vice President of the Republic and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic), Geraldo Alckmin, pledged the government’s support for the project. Brazil is a leading global food producer and a major importer of fertilizers, particularly potassium chloride. Espeschit revealed that Brazil imports 98% of the potassium used in its agriculture.

Espeschit added that potassium would be extracted 800 meters underground and the company’s facilities would be built on previously used pastureland, avoiding deforestation of native forests. He emphasized the company’s commitment to reforesting an area ten times larger than the one occupied by its facilities.